Roam Sweet Roam: What's the Right Age to Let Kids Go Free Range?

New research and guidelines on kids' independence

Published on:June 30, 2017

From kindergarten on, I walked or biked home from school alone in settings ranging from suburban Tulsa to urban Chicago, not because my parents were “free range,” but because that was the cultural norm. Today, parents have been arrested for similar behavior. But the tide may be turning. In 2016, a federal law was signed that protects kids’ rights to walk or go out alone.

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Learn how to build your own "playborhood" in part one and get the scoop on adventure playgrounds near you in part two of our July print feature.

Summer is a good time to experiment with more roaming privileges, which can be facilitated with technology (walkie-talkies, cell phones). But before cutting kids loose, take note of a recently released study that shows kids don’t fully develop the perceptual judgment and motor skills to cross busy roads safely until age 14 (yes, you read that right). Researchers say this doesn’t mean we need to shadow our kids until high school; rather, we should spend extra time training kids in how to cross roads safely.